"font gliffés dans le rapport que Le Brun a fait avant que je fuffe "de retour à Paris? Je conviens avec vous que fon énonciation fur les conférences de nos agens fecrets n'eft pas exacte-Je "n'étais point AGENT SECRET-je n'avais ni AUTORISA"TION NI MISSION, & j'ai dit la vérité en le declarant à vous, et à Mr. Pitt-Le Miniftre s'eft trompé, et je n'ai trompé ni vous ni "Mr. Pitt-Dieu vous garde de la foupçonner, fi mon amitié vous "eft chere! car je fens qu'elle ne furvivrait pas à un foup çon injurieux dont ma délicateffe et ma bonnefoi feraient frappés. "Au refte, mon cher Miles, ne nous occupons pas de ces triftes idées, et ne fongeons qu'à l'intérêt que nous mettons réciproque"ment à être toujours amis.— (Signé) "HUGUES BERNARD MARET*.' "Your Lordship will perceive from the above extract, that Mr. Maret had no public miffion to this country in 1792; and you might have learnt from himself, my Lord, the motives that decided him not to request an audience when he came over in the character of Chargé des Affaires, with "full powers to treat," as the public prints in the French intereft had the audacity to affert on his arrival in 1793.-At all events, your Lordship cannot be ignorant that he was eight days in this country, without offering, or even intending to deliver his credentials, until he received fresh instructions from Paris t. And if it had not been the object of France to deceive, deJude, and finally attack this country, a conduct more conformable to justice, and to that decency and respect which are due from one nation to another, would certainly have been adopted, and adhered to." P. 142. "Paris, 11th January, 1793. "Tell me then freely, my dear Miles, what are the grounds of your complaint against me Is it on account of the inaccu"racies which appeared in the report that Le Brun made before "6 my return - agree with you that his ftatement of the confe rences with our fecret agents is not exact-1 was not a fecret agent-I had no authority to treat, nor had I any miffion; and in declaring this to Mr. Pitt and to yourself, I acknowledged nothing but the truth.— "The Minifter (Le Brun) deceived himself, but I neither de ceived you nor Mr. Pitt. If my friendship is dear to you, God preferve you from harbouring fuch an opinion! for I feel very fenfibly, that it will not furvive a fufpicion fo injurious, which "would equally wound my delicacy and my fincerity-Banish then, "my dear Miles, thofe painful ideas, and think only of that zeal, and that intereft which we mutually feel to continue in friendship "with each other, (Signed) "HUGUES BERNARD MARET." + Vide The Conduct of France towards Great Britain, page 111, printed for G. Nicol, Pall-mall. We We shall make no comments or obfervations on this paffage, nor further extend our notice of the pamphlet itself, than to fay, that if it produce in any degree the effect of making Englishmen true to themfelves, which is its evident intention, it is an excellent work. We conclude with the fpirited expreffions of Shakspeare : This England never did, nor never fhail, ART. XIII. The Well-bred Scholar; or, Practical Effays on the beft Methods of improving the Taste and affifting the Exertions of Youth in their Literary Purfuits. By William Milns, Member of St. Mary-Hall, Oxford; Author of the Penman's Repofitory and Linguift's Treafure, &c. and Mafter of the City Commercial School, George-Yard, Lombard-Street. 8vo. 7s. Rivingtons, &c. 1794. EDUCATION is one of the most laudable objects to which the matured powers of the understanding can be applied; and fociety owes a higher obligation to no fet of men than to thofe, who, practifed in the arts of inftruction, communicate the maxims they have derived from a long and laborious experience. In systems of education which iffue from the clofet, little confidence can with fafety be repofed. Constructed upon principles which have never had a trial, or projecting refinements which never have been attained, they exhibit, too frequently, the images of fancy, rather than the transcript of wifdom; and are therefore rarely practicable to any useful extent. It is on this account, with fingular pleasure, that we enter upon the examination of a work which profeffes to augment the stock of practical knowledge, and to expedite the progrefs of inftruction, by rules of experimented utility. Our author commences his treatife with fome pertinent obfervations upon English Grammar, for which he justly contends, in oppofition to the common fyftems which prevail in fchools, as the indifpenfable ground-work of English litera ture. From Grammar he proceeds to English Composition; having previously introduced fome very fenfible remarks upon the neceffity of attending to Rhetoric, that the pupil may add to the fund of words already derived from Grammar, "a cri "a critical knowledge of his native tongue; a juft perceptioni of its copioufnefs, its energy, and its power of accommodation to every fubject.". Mr. Milns diftributes the different fpecies of English Compofition into Letters, Fables, Themes, and Orations; upon each of which he expatiates with a degree of acuteness, taste, and perfpicuity, not ufually found in practical treatifes. Under the article of Letters, we meet with many obfervations, in which we entirely accord with the ingenious author. This fpecies of compofition has indeed been held of too eafy execution; this fuppofed facility has induced habits of negligence in the young letter-writer, and "given (as Mr. M. very properly obferves) a fort of fanction to the most careless, flovenly, and incoherent effufions." Our author, having reprehended and expofed the falfe maxims which are ufually reforted to, lays down, as effential characteristics of the EpiftoJary ftyle, purity, neatnefs, and fimplicity. To each of these he affixes a fuitable explication; and refers the ftudent, for examples of each refpectively, to Swift, Sir W. Temple, and Pliny, as tranflated by Melmoth. Under the article of Fables, we find Mr. M. particularly judicious. His remarks on this fpecies of compofition are minute, difcriminating, and inftructive. We shall lay before our readers the analyfis of a fable from Phædrue, as a happy fpecimen of didactic fimplicity. "The fable of the Wolf and the Lamb, written by the former, (i. e. Phedrus) abounds in beauties. But that peculiar merit, which is the object of cur prefent remarks, is the admirable skill with which the interest of the plot, the reader's concern for oppreffed innocence, and his indignation at powerful and cruel injustice, are kept continually increafing from the firft line to the laft. The moment we are told that they came to drink at the fame fiream, we tremble for the poor lamb, and our alarm is kept up till we are brought to the fatal cataftrophe. The author is not trifling with us, when he ftops to fay, that the wolf food pretty high up the ftream, and the lamb much lower down. We fhall foon fee how this very fituation tends to make the wolf's injuftice more flagrant. After this momentary paufe, our fears are roufed by the very next words: the fon of rapine, urged by his ravenous appetite, caft about for an occafion of quarrel. We easily suppose he would not be long at a lofs for fome pretence: Why, fays he, do you difturb the water which I am drinking? What arrogance and injuftice in this charge! The poor fleccy innocent, all in a tremor, replies-How is it poffible, Sir, I should do what you accuse me of? The clear fream runs down from you to me. We recover breath again: the lamb's reply is fo forcible, and at the fame time fo respectful. But neither the evidence of truth, nor the meek, conciliating manner in which it is uttered, can divert the wolf from his murderous purpose. Though his firft accufation is refuted, he has immediate recourfe to another, equally groundless. About fix months ago, cries be, you afperfed my character. Our anxiety for the lamb is now renewed. The wolf appears to have received fome provocation--He will not delay a moment to revenge the infult. Indeed, Sir, fays the lamb, I was not born at that time. Our fufpenfe is here carried to the utmoft height: We know the wolf will not bear any long parleying. But what will he do, after being foiled in both his charges? Stung to the quick by fuch home-truths, he falls into a paffion: he takes a great oathThen, by Hercules, it was your father; and fo saying, he flew upon the lamb, and with lawless fury tore him to pieces. Atque ita correptum lacerat injustâ nece. How many ideas! how many affecting touches are brought into this line! ita, inftantly, as foon as he spoke the word, without waiting for any further reply-correptum, what a picture of rapacity! he flies upon, he feizes the defencelefs lamb-lacerat, he tears him to pieces -injufta-though he could not make good a fingle charge against him-nece-he puts the innocent to death." P. 82. In treating of Themes, our author recommends the plan laid down by the Abbé Batteux, of ftudying the Poets firft; "a method which (fays Mr. M.) I have found at:ended with the best effects in actual experience." For this purpofe, Mr. M. has arranged a fyftem of Poetical reading. The selection is for the most part judiciously made; but under the clafs of Defcriptive poems, we were difappointed in not finding those delicious repofitories of defcriptive elegance, the Traveller and Deferted Village. We are allo of opinion, that in recommending the translations of Horace and Juvenal by Francis and Dryden, exception fhould have been made of thofe Satires at leaft which fell into the happier hands of Pope and Johnfon. Thefe, though not ftrictly tranflations, preferve fo eminently the spirit of their originals, that they will never be read without advantage. Under the article of Chronology, we would fuggeft the addition of Grey's Memoria Technica; a book fantastical in many respects, yet of great mechanical utility to defective. memories. We would further fuggeft, under the article of Natural History, the addition of an abridgment of Natural Philofophy, published by Wefley. This contains a great variety of important matter, digefted with neatnefs and ability. Our author pursues, with equal acuteness and difcrimina tion, the fubject of Orations. He adheres, in difcuffing these, to the divifions ufually adopted in books of Rhetoric; and brings his examples from the beft tranflations of the Greek and Roman orators. This This work is clofed by fome ufeful obfervations on the ftudy of Languages. Mr. M.'s reprobation of tranflated fchool-books we cordially fupport. We think that the works of Florian fhould not have been omitted in an enumeration of French Paftorals; nor fhould the Lettere Peruviane have been over looked in a plan of elementary ftudy for the Italian language. Upon the whole, we think Mr. Milns deferves well of the Public, and particularly of Literary Preceptors, for the elegant and perfpicuous manner with which he has digefted thefe practical obfervations; and we have little doubt that a fedulous adherence to the plan laid down would smooth the course of early inftruction, and facilitate the acquifition of ufeful and ornamental literature. ART. XIV. Impartial Hiftory of the late Revolution in France. [Concluded from our laft, page 140.] Of THE example of the French Revolution is ufeful, not merely as it exhibits the baneful tendency of the principles on which it was founded; but alfo as it difplays the means by which thofe principles were carried into effect, and made to produce the ruin of a flourishing country. thefe means, the principal and most operative was a change, or pretended reform, in the ancient reprefentation of that coun try. It being determined by the King to convene the States General, the democratic party artfully excited two great questions refpecting the organization of that affembly. The first of these questions related to the number of members, of which the refpective chambers or houses fhould be compofed. The fecond to the mode of their deliberation; i. e. whether it fhould be in one chamber or in three; or, according to the ufual phrafe, whether they fhould vote par ordres or par têtes. All the factions throughout the kingdom demanded with one voice a double reprefentation of the Commons, and the union, or, as it was called, the amalgamation of the three orders into one affembly. "On the great question, refpecting the number of the deputies to be fent by the different orders to the meeting of the States General, the opinions of individuals were divided, according to the intereft of the parties which they refpectively efpoufed; and the Miniftry themfelves were far from decided. The general principles of equity feemed to dictate, that as the Tiers Etat, or Commons, fo infinitely exceeded |